Proxy or VPN, Which is better for my online privacy?

What is a proxy?

A proxy is basically special software running on another computer on the internet and having it’s own IP address. That IP address could be tied to any country in the world depending on how the owner set things up. There are also different levels of anonymity among the proxies: elite, anonymous, and transparent. For example: a transparent proxy does not hide your IP address or any other information. Some proxy vendors have different names for these levels of anonymity. Another proxy vendor calls them: proxy server, private proxy, and dedicated proxy. If you are going to buy a proxy service, you need to do some research first in order to get what you actually want.

How do proxies work?

Once you have signed up for a proxy service, they will provide you with your new IP address. Then you just need to add the IP to your browsers setting. Be sure to also add the port number that they provide.

From then on, every time you request a website with your browser, that request will go to your proxy IP, not your Internet Service Provider, ISP. The proxy will relay your request to the destination and obtain the websites content, then send that content back to you. The important thing is that the proxy is using it’s own IP address to make the request, thereby hiding your IP and your location. That is the whole point of using a proxy.

This will work fine with your web browser even on sites like Facebook. However, if you are using a mobile device, you are probably using the Facebook app and that will not be using the proxy. That is one down side to a proxy solution.

Finding the right proxy

Doing a search for ‘best proxy service’ will result in advertising from many proxy services – they are eager to sign you up. You will need to read their list of countries where their proxies are located. If you need a US IP address, be sure the service has more than one or it will be very busy and will provide poor performance. Also, read their privacy policy carefully because many proxy services do save some of your personal information which could be used later or even sold to advertisers. Then search for “name-of-proxy.com reviews” to see what other users are saying about that proxy service.

What is a VPN?

A VPN, which stands for Virtual Private Network, is a software application running on another computer online that is designed to allow members to log in and use one of the VPNs many IP addresses in order to hide the members home IP address and therefore hide their location. VPNs also encrypt all data that the member sends to it therefore protecting the member from man-in-the-middle hacker attempts. VPNs typically have dozens or even hundreds of IP addresses scattered around the world to from which to choose.

How does a VPN work?

When you sign up with a VPN service, they will provide you with a module that you install on your computer. After installation, you enable that module and from then on, every time you connect to the internet, you will be connecting to you VPN service, not your usual Internet Service Provider. All your requests to the internet will go directly to your VPN service and your VPN service will make the actual request to the destination,. Then your VPN will send the response back to your computer. This totally hides your IP address and therefore hides your location.

Finding the right VPN

There are an overwhelming number of VPN services to choose from online. Just a quick search in any search engine returns dozens and dozens of VPN services. Most people want a VPN for privacy reasons and any good VPN service will provide that, additionally, people want to hide their IP address for security and also in order to unblock content. Check their plans and most importantly read their privacy policy.